The Filter
I wake up. It is in the middle of the night. I couldn't move. My breathing is short (and getting shorter) and my heart is racing. And then I saw...them. Many people experience this sort of event, but never really question it. Most just go on about their day. Everyone is so oblivious to the fact that they are so close to death than they think. Everywhere, no matter where you go, there is death lurking. The term used for what I experience every night is called "Sleep Paralysis". Understand that when in this state, you are at your most vulnerable. Sleep Paralysis is when someone wakes up and cannot move. Usually triggered by a nightmare, but some people get it in even the best of their dreams. During Sleep Paralysis, you see these dark figures approach you. Hard to see, and they also seem to walking towards you in such a way, you know you are in danger, so your heart beats faster and faster. But something forces you to get out of that paralyzed state and prepare. Fight or Flight is triggered, and you are shaking beyond belief. But why can't you see them during the day? I'll tell you why. It is the filter. When someone sleeps, there are some things that happen. Cycles of sleep. More specifically, the REM state. It stands for Rapid Eye Movement. During this phase, when your eyes are moving like crazy, it wears off the filter. The filter is only on your eyes and nowhere else. And if you are disturbed during this state, say from a nightmare, the filter needs some time to get back on your eyes. Heaven forbid they don't return, for if they do, you'll die a most horrific and tragic death of helplessness and fear. If in some weird case that the filter is not on your eyes at all during the day, you will see what no one should ever witness... ever. What you will see theoretically are ghost and creatures, deceased people and other beings. Some who take on colors outside of our visible spectrum. But only during broad daylight will this occur. There, where you can see everything that people with filters couldn't, the creatures and everything there can see you as well. When they see you, they will do everything in their power to torture you in every way possible. I, myself, can not even imagine the pain that could be emitted. Keep in mind that they share the same dimension as us, it is just separated by filters. I had a friend who came to me one day in the early morning. His name was Sam. He seemed paranoid and very shook. He was shocked and terrified. He is the kind of friend who jokes about almost everything but I could tell that this was genuine fear with the scratchy sound to his voice. He told me about these things strangled him in his bed, and clawed at his legs with nails he described to be sharp as knives and as long as pencils. He previously had a nightmare about how he was running away from these dark hooded figures because he broke the law apparently. All seemed fine until they actually caught him, which is when he woke up. He said he was still dreaming, but the fact that the filter was not present during this, he could not see reality. Instead, he still saw his dream happening in real time, and the creatures. If he could see the creatures, they could see him. The filter did not come back as fast as it usually would, and so he was tortured for as long as it took until the filters came back. He showed me his legs. I saw nothing. He told me that he was bleeding and his legs still hurt. His filters must have been damaged... I took him to the hospital, where they had him under watch for any weird or vital signs. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" The scream he emitted was so blood-curdling, it could be heard throughout the hospital. I run up to his room with the guide of the nurses. He is holding his throat. Choking himself from what it seems. He's gasping for air, and then the nurses release his hands off his throat and tie him down. "Why were you choking yourself?" I hastily said. "I wasn't, It was them that were choking me. I swear to Go-" He stopped and he look up at the ceiling. Then he looked around. Then he looked at me... I was very uncomfortable with the look he was given me. He looks away from me and then look at the wall. The wall... it is being scratched. After I stare at it awhile, a message forms. "God has abandoned you." Sam starts going berserk, screaming at the top of his lungs at which the nurses and doctors rush in to hold him down and inject him with Anti-psychotic medicine. He dies. The line goes flat. The doctors step away and walk out slowly. I lost my very close friend that day. People don't question much about Sleep Paralysis and the things around them, but little do most know, they are all too close to dying. Pray to God that you never lose your filter. Category:Dreams/Sleep Category:Mental Illness